Toys and dolls which can be dressed-up by children have always been popular. It is a challenge to find new ways to make the combination of a doll or toy with its clothing or accessories more interesting or entertaining. Teaching children to dress dolls or toys appropriately is one of the uses of ensembles of dolls or toys and their clothing or accessories. It would thus be an advantage to be able to ensure that clothing or accessories to be held by or placed on the doll or toy are correctly positioned. In addition, it would be an advantage if the toy or doll could respond to the child once an article of clothing or an accessory has been placed on the doll or toy in order to indicate that the clothing is acceptable. In this way, an interactive relationship between the child and the doll or toy could be created. It would be a further advantage if multiple toys and dolls could communicate their status to each other, to create interactivity between multiple dolls or toys.
Toys and dolls are often sold along with, or separately from, sets of clothing and accessories intended to be used with such dolls or toys. It would be a great advantage to create a coding system so that different articles or sets of clothing could be recognized by a single doll or toy, or a variety of dolls or toys. The dolls or toys could be pre-programmed to recognize a variety of clothing or accessories, regardless of the particular clothing with which the dolls or toys were sold. This would facilitate flexibility of purchasing decisions and permit a great variety of clothing and accessories to be made available using the instant invention.
Accordingly, in a major aspect, an interactive dress-up toy comprises removable clothing and accessories; sensor means to detect the specific item of clothing or the specific accessory worn by the toy; and communication means to communicate to the user the status of the clothing and accessories worn by the toy or missing from the toy.
In further aspects of the invention:
(a) the communication means comprises artificial speech;
(b) the communication means comprises lights;
(c) the communication means comprises an electronic display screen;
(d) the sensor means comprises a master sensor and multiple secondary sensors;
(e) the secondary sensors comprise clothing sensors and accessories sensors;
(f) each clothing sensor comprises a light source and a light sensor;
(g) the light source and light sensor are mounted at a short distance from each other and angled such that when an article of clothing is worn by the toy, light emitted from the light source will reflect from a reflective surface on the interior of the article of clothing and be directed towards the light sensor to create a signal;
(h) an array of clothing sensors is coded to match an array of reflective patterns on various articles of clothing;
(i) each accessory sensor comprises a male portion and a female portion;
(j) the male portion comprises a pin of a selected length, namely long or short, and the female portion comprises a hole adapted to receive said pin, the hole ending with a contact plate or switch adapted to be contacted by a long pin;
(k) an array of female portions is coded to match an array of male portions to correspond with various accessories;
(l) an integrated circuit receives signals from one or more secondary sensors to trigger appropriate communication signals to the user;
(m) the removable clothing and accessories comprises multiple sets of clothing and multiple sets of accessories corresponding to different activities.
In a secondary aspect of the invention, an interactive toy comprises at least one removable element; sensor means to detect the presence or absence of the removable element or elements; and communication means to communicate to the user the status of the element or elements present or absent from the toy.
In further aspects of the secondary aspect of the invention:
(a) the communication means comprises artificial speech;
(b) the communication means comprises lights;
(c) the communication means comprises at least one electronic display screen;
(d) the sensor means comprises a source of electromagnetic radiation and a detector of electromagnetic radiation;
(e) the sensor means comprises a source of magnetic fields and a detector of magnetic fields;
(f) the sensor means comprises a source of magnetic interference and a detector of magnetism;
(g) the electromagnetic radiation is of infrared frequency;
(h) the electromagnetic radiation is of radio frequency;
(i) the electromagnetic radiation is of visible light frequency;
(j) the status of the element or elements or its or their presence or absence from the toy corresponds to a set of one or more stored audible messages relating to said status;
(k) the status of the clothing corresponds to the presence or absence of a particular activity or personality;
(l) the status of the clothing triggers the communication means to produce audible signals appropriate to said status chosen from a set of signals appropriate to all possible clothing statuses;
(m) the status of the accessory corresponds to the presence or absence of a particular activity or personality;
(n) the status of the accessory triggers the communication means to produce audible signals appropriate to said status chosen from a set of signals appropriate to all possible accessory statuses.
In a further aspect of the invention, one doll or toy comprising sensor means and communication means as aforesaid, further comprises transmission and receiving means such that said doll or toy can communicate its status to other dolls or toys, and vice and generate appropriate audible comments accordingly.
In the doll of the preferred embodiment, several light sources and sensors are mounted at or below the surface of the doll or toy. In order to be able to code the articles of clothing, a light signal is adapted to be reflected only from specific areas of the clothing. It is important to have a sensor which is sensitive enough to ensure that a signal will be created when clothing is properly positioned. Overly high sensitivity, however, may render the sensor subject to unwanted signals.
A doll""s clothing is typically made of cloth. Black cloth is generally non-reflective to light, such as infrared light, while white cloth is generally reflective of such light. Nonetheless, different materials exhibit different reflectivities depending upon factors such as their colour, physical construction (including the density of the weave), chemical structure, cleaning agents used on the material, and wear (for example, crushing of the material in use or storage). Under certain circumstances, even nearly black material may reflect infrared signals. Thus, errors in recognition of the particular clothing worn by the doll can arise. It is important to improve the reliability of the system comprising the doll or toy and the clothing by clearly differentiating reflective areas from non-reflective areas of the clothing. To achieve this differentiation, one can use special areas of reflective material and/or material which is a good reflector of the particular light source chosen, and special non-reflective areas and/or material which is a very good non-reflector. Coloured plastic can also be used to make reflective or non-reflective sections of clothing. Cloth fibres may be natural, such as wool, cotton or silk; or synthetic, such as polyester, polyethylene, nylon, etc.
Non-reflective areas may be composed, for example, of black felt sewn or glued to the inside of the doll""s clothing. Felt has been found to be a good choice since it is dense and is unlikely to permit stray signals to pass through it. Other embodiments are also possible; for example, a black pigment printed onto the inside of the clothing or onto a patch fastened to the clothing may be very effective. By the same token, a reflective area may be comprised of white felt. Felt may be very good material to choose when appropriate since it is dense and reflective when coloured white. But other materials may function equally effectively when chosen appropriately. For example, black and dark blue linings appear almost equal in colour to the naked eye, yet can act as non-reflective and reflective surfaces respectively to disguise the function of the different materials from the user. This may be an advantage since it will increase interest when the user is intrigued by the doll""s interactivity, yet is unable to determine how this interactivity has occurred.
Accordingly, in a further aspect, the invention comprises the combination of clothing and an interactive dress-up toy comprising: removable clothing; sensor means on the toy adapted to detect a form of electromagnetic energy, and further adapted to detect the specific item of clothing worn by the toy; and communication means to communicate to the user the status of the clothing worn by or missing from the toy; wherein the material of the clothing is selected to be reflective or non-reflective of the form of energy to be detected by the sensor means.
In further aspects of the invention:
(a) specific areas of the clothing are adapted to be reflective or non-reflective of said energy oppositely to the reflectivity or non-reflectivity of said material of the clothing;
(b) said specific areas of the clothing comprise a layer of a second material sewn or adhered to the surface of the material of the clothing;
(c) the second material is non-reflective and coloured black;
(d) the second material is reflective and coloured white;
(e) the specific areas of the clothing comprise a layer of pigment printed on the surface of the material of the clothing;
(f) the layer of pigment is non-reflective and coloured black;
(g) the layer of pigment is reflective and coloured white;
(h) the second material comprises felt.
In a further aspect of the invention, an interactive doll and clothing ensemble comprises a doll comprising multiple spaced magnetic sensors mounted near the surface of the doll at selected positions; articles of clothing comprising multiple spaced magnets adapted to come into registration with selected magnetic sensors when each article of clothing is separately placed on the doll; each article of clothing comprising a group of magnets corresponding to positions of selected magnetic sensors, such that the combination of number and positions of said magnets constitutes a unique code for each article of clothing; processing means adapted to receive sensor signals from the sensors and to generate a processor signal corresponding to the particular article of clothing worn by the doll; sound generation means adapted to receive the processor signal from the processing means and to generate one or more audible sounds appropriate to the particular article of clothing worn by the doll.
In further aspects of the invention:
(a) the processing means comprises a computer microprocessor;
(b) the sound generation means is adapted to generate sounds comprising artificial human speech;
(c) the sound generation means is adapted to generate a series of phrases;
(d) a selective registration magnet is always present on each article of clothing such that when the article of clothing is properly in place on the doll, the corresponding registration magnetic sensor on the doll generates a registration signal;
(e) no signals are generated by other magnetic sensors on the doll until triggered by a signal from the registration magnetic sensor;
(f) the processing means comprises a computer microprocessor, and the sound generation means is adapted to generate a series of phrases comprising artificial human speech;
(g) a registration opening on the doll or toy comprising a registration switch is adapted to receive a corresponding protrusion and/or peg on each article of clothing, such that when the article of clothing is properly in place on the doll or toy, the switch is triggered to generate or conduct a registration signal;
(h) no energy is generated by energy sources in sensors on the doll or toy until triggered by a signal generated by or conducted by the registration switch.
In a further aspect, the interactive doll and clothing ensemble comprises a doll comprising multiple spaced electromagnetic sensors mounted near the surface of the doll at selected positions, said electromagnetic sensors comprising pair of electromagnetic radiation generators and detectors; at least one magnetic sensor mounted near the surface of the doll at a selected position; articles of clothing comprising multiple spaced zones adapted to reflect electromagnetic radiation from an electromagnetic radiation generator to a corresponding detector, said zones adapted to come into registration with selected electromagnetic sensors when an article of clothing is placed on the doll; each article of clothing comprising a discrete group of zones corresponding to positions of selected sensors, such that the combination of number and positions of said zones constitutes a unique code for each article of clothing; said doll further comprising at least one magnetic sensor located at a selected location; each article of clothing comprising at least one magnet adapted to register with said magnetic sensor when the article of clothing is correctly in place; said magnetic sensor adapted to generate a registration signal to trigger the electromagnetic sensors to begin sensing; processing means adapted to receive signals from the magnetic sensor and from the electromagnetic sensors, to trigger the electromagnetic sensors to begin sensing, to process signals from the electromagnetic sensors to identify the particular article of clothing on the doll, and to send a processor signal to sound generation means; said sound generation means adapted to receive the processor signal and to generate one or more audible sounds appropriate to the particular article of clothing worn by the doll.
In a further aspect, an interactive doll and clothing ensemble comprises: a doll comprising multiple spaced electromagnetic sensors mounted near the surface of the doll at selected positions, said electromagnetic sensors comprising pairs of electromagnetic radiation generators and detectors powered by a source of energy; at least one master switch located on or in the doll at a selected position; articles of clothing comprising multiple spaced zones adapted to reflect electromagnetic radiation from an electromagnetic radiation generator to a corresponding detector, said zones adapted to come into registration with selected electromagnetic sensors when an article of clothing is placed on the doll; each article of clothing comprising a discrete group of zones corresponding to positions of selected sensors, such that the combination of number and positions of said zones constitutes a unique code for each article of clothing; each article of clothing comprising at least one master switch trigger adapted to register with said master switch when the article of clothing is placed on the doll; the master switch adapted to conduct power from the energy source to the electromagnetic sensors only when triggered by the placement of the article of clothing on the doll; processing means adapted to receive signals from the electromagnetic sensors to identify the particular article of clothing on the doll, and to send a processor signal to sound generation means; said sound generation means adapted to receive the processor signal and to generate one or more audible sounds appropriate to the particular article of clothing worn by the doll.
In a further aspect of the invention, multiple master switches are located in different positions on or in the doll and articles of clothing comprise master switch triggers adapted to register with one or more of said master switches when the article of clothing is placed on the doll.
In a further aspect, photointerrupter sensors are used. These sensors comprise pairs of energy emitting and energy detecting elements. The angle of emission of the radiation and the distance of the emitter from the detector may be chosen so as to generate signals when an article of clothing is placed within a certain range of distance from the sensors. Thus, if the clothing or any other reflective material is too far away, the emitted radiation will not be received by the detector and no recognition signal will be generated. A signal will be generated by detected radiation only when the clothing is placed in close proximity to the sensor, which proximity can be facilitated when the master switch trigger, which may comprise a shaped protrusion from the doll""s clothing, is contacted with the master switch, preferably in an opening or receptacle corresponding to the shape of the protrusion, such that the article of clothing is located to the doll and the clothing is held close to the surface of the doll so as to generate a sensor signal. Fastening means on the clothing, such as matched pairs of Velcro(trademark) strips, can be used to firmly position the clothing in final registration with the doll.
Further aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description.